Patent · US11322958B2 · B2 · US

Charging station

(11) Publication number

US11322958B2

(21) Application number

16/869,689

(22) Filing date

2020-05-08

(30) Priority date

2019-10-23

(43) Publication date

2022-05-03

(45) Date of grant

2022-05-03

(51) IPC

G05D 1/02; H02J 7/00

(52) CPC

H02J Electric power networks; circuit arrangements or systems for supplying or distributing electric power; systems for storing electric energy: 7/751, 7/00032, 7/0045, 7/40, 7/70
B25J Manipulators; chambers provided with manipulation devices: 19/005
B60K Arrangement or mounting of propulsion units or of transmissions in vehicles; arrangement or mounting of plural diverse prime-movers in vehicles; auxiliary drives for vehicles; instrumentation or dashboards for vehicles; arrangements in connection with cooling, air intake, gas exhaust or fuel supply of propulsion units in vehicles: 7/0007
B60L Propulsion of electrically-propelled vehicles; supplying electric power for auxiliary equipment of electrically-propelled vehicles; electrodynamic brake systems for vehicles in general; magnetic suspension or levitation for vehicles; monitoring operating variables of electrically-propelled vehicles; electric safety devices for electrically-propelled vehicles: 2200/40, 2240/62, 2260/32, 53/16, 53/305, 53/31, 53/35, 53/36, 58/12
G05D Systems for controlling or regulating non-electric variables: 1/0225
H01R Electrically-conductive connections; structural associations of a plurality of mutually-insulated electrical connecting elements; coupling devices; current collectors: 13/6315, 13/74
Y02T Climate change mitigation technologies related to transportation: 10/70, 10/7072, 10/72, 90/12, 90/14, 90/16

(73) Assignee

LG Electronics Inc

(72) Inventors

Seungjong PARK; Sunghee Han; Jinwon Kang; JaeYoung Kim; Yousook Eun

(54) Title

Charging station

(57) Abstract

Disclosed is a charging station including a case, a rear hole elongated vertically on a rear surface of the case, a plug protruding to a rear side of the case for vertically sliding along the rear hole, a terminal provided at the case and allowing a moving robot to be docked thereto, and a moving mechanism for moving the terminal between a hidden position at which the terminal is located in the case and a docking position at which the terminal is protruding to a front side of the case.

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Claims (20)

A charging station, comprising: a case, the case including: a front surface and a rear surface opposite to the front surface; and a rear hole on the rear surface of the case, the rear hole being vertically elongated; a plug protruding from the rear surface of the case and configured to vertically slide along the rear hole; a terminal provided at the case, the terminal being configured to: move between a hidden position at which the terminal is completely located in the case and a docking position at which the terminal protrudes from the front surface of the case, and allow a moving robot to be docked to the charging station; and a moving mechanism configured to move the terminal between the hidden position and the docking position.
The charging station of claim 1, further comprising a charging circuit provided inside of the case and electrically connected to the terminal and to the plug.
The charging station of claim 1, further comprising a plug lifting mechanism configured to slide the plug along the rear hole to allow the plug to be fitted to an electrical outlet.
The charging station of claim 1, further comprising a rear cover provided inside of the case and configured to slide together with the plug to cover the rear hole from the inside of the case.
The charging station of claim 1, further comprising: a receiver configured to wirelessly communicate with the moving robot and receive location information of the moving robot; and a controller configured to communicate with the receiver and control the moving mechanism to move the terminal to the docking position when the moving robot approaches within a predetermined distance from the charging station.
The charging station of claim 1, further comprising: a receiver configured to wirelessly communicate with the moving robot to receive location information and battery status information of the moving robot; and a controller configured to communicate with the receiver and control the moving mechanism to move the terminal to the docking position when the moving robot approaches within a predetermined distance from the charging station and a remaining battery capacity of the moving robot is less than a predetermined value.
The charging station of claim 1, wherein the moving mechanism comprises: a shaft; a motor configured rotate the shaft; a wheel connected to the shaft and configured to move with rotation of the shaft; and a supporter configured to support the wheel.
The charging station of claim 1, further comprising: a terminal lifting mechanism configured to lift and lower both the terminal and the moving mechanism; and a front hole vertically elongated on the front surface of the case, the terminal passing through the front hole.
The charging station of claim 8, further comprising: a receiver configured to wirelessly communicate with the moving robot and receive type information of the moving robot; and a controller configured to control the terminal lifting mechanism to lift and lower the terminal to a height corresponding to a connector of the moving robot.
The charging station of claim 8, further comprising a front cover provided inside of the case, the front cover being configured to be lifted and lowered together with the terminal to cover the front hole from the inside of the case.
The charging station of claim 10, further comprising a guide groove provided on an inner surface of the case, wherein the guide groove is configured to communicate with the front hole and to guide the lifting and lowering of the front cover.
A charging station, comprising: a first case, the first case comprising a front surface and a rear surface opposite to the front surface; and a rear hole on the rear surface of the first case, the rear hole being vertically elongated; a plug protruding from the rear surface of the first case and configured to vertically slide along the rear hole; a second case hingedly connected to the first case and configured to rotate between a first position at which the second case is vertically disposed and covers the front surface of the first case and a second position at which the second case is horizontally disposed after rotating downward from the first position; a terminal provided at the second case, the terminal being configured to: move between a hidden position at which the terminal is completely located in the second case and a docking position at which the terminal protrudes from the second case, and allow a moving robot to be docked to the charging station; and a moving mechanism configured to move the terminal between the hidden position and the docking position.
The charging station of claim 12, further comprising a charging circuit provided inside of the first case or the second case and electrically connected to the terminal and to the plug.
The charging station of claim 12, wherein the moving mechanism includes a housing, and wherein the terminal includes: a first terminal extending from a first side of the housing of the moving mechanism; and a second terminal extending from a second side of the housing of the moving mechanism, the second side of the housing being opposite to the first side of the housing.
The charging station of claim 14, wherein the moving mechanism is configured to: move the first terminal to protrude from a front surface of the second case when the second case is located in the first position, and move the second terminal to protrude from a rear surface of the second case when the second case is located at the second position, and wherein the front surface of the second case is opposite to the rear surface of the second case.
The charging station of claim 12, further comprising a plug lifting mechanism configured to vertically slide the plug along the rear hole to allow the plug to be fitted to an electrical outlet.
The charging station of claim 12, further comprising a rear cover provided inside of the first case and configured to slide together with the plug to cover the rear hole from the inside of the first case.
The charging station of claim 12, further comprising: a terminal lifting mechanism configured to lift and lower the terminal and the moving mechanism; a receiver configured to wirelessly communicate with the moving robot and receive type information of the moving robot; and a controller configured to control the terminal lifting mechanism to lift and lower the terminal to a height corresponding to a connector of the moving robot.
The charging station of claim 12, further comprising: a receiver configured to wirelessly communicate with the moving robot and receive location information of the moving robot; and a controller configured to communicate with the receiver and control the moving mechanism such that the terminal moves to the docking position when the moving robot approaches within a predetermined distance to the charging station.
The charging station of claim 12, further comprising: a receiver configured to wirelessly communicate with the moving robot to receive location information and battery status information of the moving robot; and a controller configured to communicate with the receiver and control the moving mechanism such that the terminal moves to the docking position when the moving robot approaches within a predetermined distance to the charging station and a remaining battery capacity of the moving robot is less than a predetermined value.

Description

The present disclosure relates to a charging station for charging a moving robot.

In general, a machine that performs a motion similar to humans' motion using an electrical or magnetic action is called a robot. Recently, robots have been used in various fields due to the development of control technologies, and examples of robots include surgical robots, housekeeping robots, service robots, aerospace remote robots, dangerous object handling robots, and the like.

In particular, moving robots may perform an operation, while moving in a room. For example, a robot cleaner cleans the floor, while traveling in a room. As another example, a guide robot may move, while guiding users in a public place such as an airport or a shopping mall.

Such a moving robot is equipped with a battery and the battery must be charged periodically.

In a related art, a method of charging the moving robot by directly putting a plug of the moving robot to an outlet has been used. However, such as method has a cumbersome problem because a user needs to directly connect/disconnect the plug to/from the outlet.

In order to solve the problem, a docking method has recently been adopted. For example, the related art document KR 10-2015-0109470A discloses a docking station for a moving robot. However, since the docking station disclosed in the related art document uses a power cable, it cannot be installed close enough to a wall provided with an outlet. Therefore, there is a limitation in that a relatively large space is required for installation of the docking station.

Citations (6)

US6377022B1
US7719229B2
KR20150109470A
US10752120B2
US20180292837A1
US10873194B2

Record as JSON

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  "publication_number": "US11322958B2",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "B2",
  "title": "Charging station",
  "abstract": "Disclosed is a charging station including a case, a rear hole elongated vertically on a rear surface of the case, a plug protruding to a rear side of the case for vertically sliding along the rear hole, a terminal provided at the case and allowing a moving robot to be docked thereto, and a moving mechanism for moving the terminal between a hidden position at which the terminal is located in the case and a docking position at which the terminal is protruding to a front side of the case.",
  "claims": [
    "1. A charging station, comprising: a case, the case including: a front surface and a rear surface opposite to the front surface; and a rear hole on the rear surface of the case, the rear hole being vertically elongated; a plug protruding from the rear surface of the case and configured to vertically slide along the rear hole; a terminal provided at the case, the terminal being configured to: move between a hidden position at which the terminal is completely located in the case and a docking position at which the terminal protrudes from the front surface of the case, and allow a moving robot to be docked to the charging station; and a moving mechanism configured to move the terminal between the hidden position and the docking position.",
    "2. The charging station of claim 1, further comprising a charging circuit provided inside of the case and electrically connected to the terminal and to the plug.",
    "3. The charging station of claim 1, further comprising a plug lifting mechanism configured to slide the plug along the rear hole to allow the plug to be fitted to an electrical outlet.",
    "4. The charging station of claim 1, further comprising a rear cover provided inside of the case and configured to slide together with the plug to cover the rear hole from the inside of the case.",
    "5. The charging station of claim 1, further comprising: a receiver configured to wirelessly communicate with the moving robot and receive location information of the moving robot; and a controller configured to communicate with the receiver and control the moving mechanism to move the terminal to the docking position when the moving robot approaches within a predetermined distance from the charging station.",
    "6. The charging station of claim 1, further comprising: a receiver configured to wirelessly communicate with the moving robot to receive location information and battery status information of the moving robot; and a controller configured to communicate with the receiver and control the moving mechanism to move the terminal to the docking position when the moving robot approaches within a predetermined distance from the charging station and a remaining battery capacity of the moving robot is less than a predetermined value.",
    "7. The charging station of claim 1, wherein the moving mechanism comprises: a shaft; a motor configured rotate the shaft; a wheel connected to the shaft and configured to move with rotation of the shaft; and a supporter configured to support the wheel.",
    "8. The charging station of claim 1, further comprising: a terminal lifting mechanism configured to lift and lower both the terminal and the moving mechanism; and a front hole vertically elongated on the front surface of the case, the terminal passing through the front hole.",
    "9. The charging station of claim 8, further comprising: a receiver configured to wirelessly communicate with the moving robot and receive type information of the moving robot; and a controller configured to control the terminal lifting mechanism to lift and lower the terminal to a height corresponding to a connector of the moving robot.",
    "10. The charging station of claim 8, further comprising a front cover provided inside of the case, the front cover being configured to be lifted and lowered together with the terminal to cover the front hole from the inside of the case.",
    "11. The charging station of claim 10, further comprising a guide groove provided on an inner surface of the case, wherein the guide groove is configured to communicate with the front hole and to guide the lifting and lowering of the front cover.",
    "12. A charging station, comprising: a first case, the first case comprising a front surface and a rear surface opposite to the front surface; and a rear hole on the rear surface of the first case, the rear hole being vertically elongated; a plug protruding from the rear surface of the first case and configured to vertically slide along the rear hole; a second case hingedly connected to the first case and configured to rotate between a first position at which the second case is vertically disposed and covers the front surface of the first case and a second position at which the second case is horizontally disposed after rotating downward from the first position; a terminal provided at the second case, the terminal being configured to: move between a hidden position at which the terminal is completely located in the second case and a docking position at which the terminal protrudes from the second case, and allow a moving robot to be docked to the charging station; and a moving mechanism configured to move the terminal between the hidden position and the docking position.",
    "13. The charging station of claim 12, further comprising a charging circuit provided inside of the first case or the second case and electrically connected to the terminal and to the plug.",
    "14. The charging station of claim 12, wherein the moving mechanism includes a housing, and wherein the terminal includes: a first terminal extending from a first side of the housing of the moving mechanism; and a second terminal extending from a second side of the housing of the moving mechanism, the second side of the housing being opposite to the first side of the housing.",
    "15. The charging station of claim 14, wherein the moving mechanism is configured to: move the first terminal to protrude from a front surface of the second case when the second case is located in the first position, and move the second terminal to protrude from a rear surface of the second case when the second case is located at the second position, and wherein the front surface of the second case is opposite to the rear surface of the second case.",
    "16. The charging station of claim 12, further comprising a plug lifting mechanism configured to vertically slide the plug along the rear hole to allow the plug to be fitted to an electrical outlet.",
    "17. The charging station of claim 12, further comprising a rear cover provided inside of the first case and configured to slide together with the plug to cover the rear hole from the inside of the first case.",
    "18. The charging station of claim 12, further comprising: a terminal lifting mechanism configured to lift and lower the terminal and the moving mechanism; a receiver configured to wirelessly communicate with the moving robot and receive type information of the moving robot; and a controller configured to control the terminal lifting mechanism to lift and lower the terminal to a height corresponding to a connector of the moving robot.",
    "19. The charging station of claim 12, further comprising: a receiver configured to wirelessly communicate with the moving robot and receive location information of the moving robot; and a controller configured to communicate with the receiver and control the moving mechanism such that the terminal moves to the docking position when the moving robot approaches within a predetermined distance to the charging station.",
    "20. The charging station of claim 12, further comprising: a receiver configured to wirelessly communicate with the moving robot to receive location information and battery status information of the moving robot; and a controller configured to communicate with the receiver and control the moving mechanism such that the terminal moves to the docking position when the moving robot approaches within a predetermined distance to the charging station and a remaining battery capacity of the moving robot is less than a predetermined value."
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "The present disclosure relates to a charging station for charging a moving robot.\n\nIn general, a machine that performs a motion similar to humans' motion using an electrical or magnetic action is called a robot. Recently, robots have been used in various fields due to the development of control technologies, and examples of robots include surgical robots, housekeeping robots, service robots, aerospace remote robots, dangerous object handling robots, and the like.\n\nIn particular, moving robots may perform an operation, while moving in a room. For example, a robot cleaner cleans the floor, while traveling in a room. As another example, a guide robot may move, while guiding users in a public place such as an airport or a shopping mall.\n\nSuch a moving robot is equipped with a battery and the battery must be charged periodically.\n\nIn a related art, a method of charging the moving robot by directly putting a plug of the moving robot to an outlet has been used. However, such as method has a cumbersome problem because a user needs to directly connect/disconnect the plug to/from the outlet.\n\nIn order to solve the problem, a docking method has recently been adopted. For example, the related art document KR 10-2015-0109470A discloses a docking station for a moving robot. However, since the docking station disclosed in the related art document uses a power cable, it cannot be installed close enough to a wall provided with an outlet. Therefore, there is a limitation in that a relatively large space is required for installation of the docking station.",
  "cpc": [
    "H02J 7/751",
    "B25J 19/005",
    "B60K 7/0007",
    "B60L 2200/40",
    "B60L 2240/62",
    "B60L 2260/32",
    "B60L 53/16",
    "B60L 53/305",
    "B60L 53/31",
    "B60L 53/35",
    "B60L 53/36",
    "B60L 58/12",
    "G05D 1/0225",
    "H01R 13/6315",
    "H01R 13/74",
    "H02J 7/00032",
    "H02J 7/0045",
    "H02J 7/40",
    "H02J 7/70",
    "Y02T 10/70",
    "Y02T 10/7072",
    "Y02T 10/72",
    "Y02T 90/12",
    "Y02T 90/14",
    "Y02T 90/16"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "G05D 1/02",
    "H02J 7/00"
  ],
  "assignees": [
    "LG Electronics Inc"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "Seungjong PARK",
    "Sunghee Han",
    "Jinwon Kang",
    "JaeYoung Kim",
    "Yousook Eun"
  ],
  "filing_date": "2020-05-08",
  "publication_date": "2022-05-03",
  "grant_date": "2022-05-03",
  "priority_date": "2019-10-23",
  "application_number": "US-202016869689-A",
  "family_id": "75586439",
  "cited_by_count": 0,
  "citations": [
    "US6377022B1",
    "US7719229B2",
    "KR20150109470A",
    "US10752120B2",
    "US20180292837A1",
    "US10873194B2"
  ]
}

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